GTA Online - Stimulus Update, DLC Announcement

For those of you who have been eagerly waiting throughout the week for your first Stimulus Package payment to arrive, you've surely noticed that it hasn't. The reason for that is because Rockstar has announced that the payments will now start to arrive sometime next week, after the newest title update.

The Stimulus Package was first announced by Rockstar as a thank you gift of sorts to players for sticking with them through some of the technical launch issues of GTA Online. Their original goal was to have the first payment deposited into players' accounts as early as last week, alongside the 1.0.4 title update. However, earlier this week Rockstar then set the arrival of the deposit to arrive sometime during this week, which as we know now has turned into hopefully next week.

Now before everyone reaches for their torches and pitch forks, understand that Rockstar do have their reasons for the delay:

We know many of you are anxiously waiting for us to show you the GTA$ Stimulus Package money we announced a couple weeks back. As mentioned in that post, we of course want to ensure that game progress loss issues are sufficiently sorted before distributing the GTA$ to everyone. We have a few more tweaks and fixes to make in a new title update that will hit sometime next week and then we will distribute the cash.

Alongside the update on the Stimulus Package came news about the first add-on content update coming in early November. The "Beach Bum Pack" will add new beach-themed vehicles as well as new weapons that will be available in both GTA Online and the Grand Theft Auto V story mode. Additionally, new GTA Online character customizations are coming which will include new tattoos, hairstyles, and much more. To go along with all of that, Rockstar also has brand-new Jobs in all of the major game types set on the coastlines and beach resorts of Los Santos and Blaine County.

Rockstar also mentioned that the GTA Online Content Creator, which will give players the ability craft, publish, rate, and play custom-made Deathmatch and Race Jobs, will also be coming this fall. Creations that are deemed to be exceptional amongst the bunch will branded as "Rockstar Verified" and featured on the Rockstar Newswire and in Social Club events.

Both the "Beach Bum Pack" and Content Creator will be free for players.

Lastly, Rockstar talked about Grand Theft Auto Online Social Club Event weekends which will be starting in November. These events will bring special rewards like limited-edition in-game content, in-game discounts, and prize pack giveaways.

Writer of news, features, and reviews for TrueAchievements since June 2013. Discovered the incredible world of video games at a young age with Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf, and haven't looked back since. Outside of gaming, I'm usually found reading up on various history topics or rooting for the lowly Buffalo Bills and Sabres.